Today, I will focus on the word “observation.”
I am sure that careful observation is the key to making good photos. I already mentioned in one of my previous posts that we should analyze what we see even if we do not have a camera with us. We can develop our imagination practically all the time. We can do that while walking to our schools or offices. I know that this post is somehow a repetition of one of the previous posts.
Nevertheless, I do not know who and when will start to read my blog. Thus, sometimes I make a duplication of my content. Similar to Vincent van Gogh (olive trees), Salvador Dali (bread, grilled bacon, ants), or Zdzislaw Beksinski (female corps are heading towards the viewer) who were doing repetitions of one of the motifs in their artworks.
What’s most exciting, I consciously make a lot of repetitions in my photographs.
But I will write about it in the future. Back to the main topic, that is the observation. How can we train our “muscle” responsible for imagination?
For example, we can observe some scenes and try to imagine how we could show them in the frame of our image. Should we move a little bit to the right? Or maybe we should remove some objects from the frame? Wouldn’t it be better if we try to imagine what we see in black and white colors? The choice is yours. The more you analyze, the better photographs you start to shoot.
Moreover, to take a better shot, you should also analyze and contemplate the artworks of famous masters. Both in paintings (I recommend all mentioned above painters, plus such geniuses: Leonardo da Vinci, Hieronymus Bosh or Vassily Kandinsky) and photography (I suggest: Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson or Sebastiao Salgado). I am sure that the more you analyze their works, the more details you will notice. Thus, you will be able to add more and more artistic aspects to your images. You will become aware of a lot of things, for example, the creative processes of all the geniuses. Speaking shortly: the more knowledge and inspirations you will gain, the better pictures you start to make.
And one more thing. I suggest you not to watch paintings made by mentioned above painters on the internet but in the exhibitions. Or, you can invest in books to have the possibility to reach the artworks at one’s fingertips. It’s my favorite option. By the way, Taschen is my ideal publishing house. I love to read their positions. I believe that by contemplating artworks in marvelous published books, you will gain much more inspirations, knowledge, and power than by watching paintings on the screen.
